Cabernet Sauvignon, Cardinale, Napa Valley, CA, 2014

Professional Ratings

• 98 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2014 Cardinale is another awesome wine from winemaker Chris Carpenter, and I actually like it more than the 2015. A blend from multiple estate vineyards, its deep purple color is followed by a larger than life bouquet of sweet crème de cassis, scorched earth, graphite, tobacco leaf and spicy wood. A big, opulent, sexy wine, it has incredible grace and elegance as well as beautiful purity and a great finish. This is a tour de force in Cabernet Sauvignon that does everything right. It's approachable today (as are almost all 2014s) yet is going to cruise in the cellar for another two decades or more. Bravo!
• 98 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  A magnificent wine made the by the brilliant winemaker Chris Carpenter, who also works for the Kendall-Jackson empire at Lakoya and a handful of other estates, this blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot is sourced from multiple vineyards owned by the Jacksons, from Veeder Peak to Spring Mountain to Howell Mountain. In 2014, it reminded me of a great vintage of Pontet-Canet from Pauillac, but slightly bigger than life. The inky purple color, the stunning nose of cedar wood, unsmoked cigar tobacco, graphite, crème de cassis and subtle new oak is followed by a multi-layered, profoundly concentrated, large-scaled wine with sensational levels of blackcurrant fruit moving toward blackberries. A wine of great intensity, silky tannins and adequate acidity, this is clearly one of the great, great wines of the vintage, and another tour de force in winemaking from Carpenter. It is a 15- to 20- year wine, but the window for drinking its is probably that big as well.
• 97 Tasting Panel

  Bright ruby color with a soft plum nose; bright cherry and boysenberry with notes of vanilla, toast, and spice; deep, intense, and ageworthy. Another Chris Carpenter masterpiece that’s incredibly elegant, precise, and generous.

• 96 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  A complete wine, the 2014 Cardinale Red Wine takes all of its elements and artfully puts them together well. The wine's red and black fruit aromas and flavors are joined with black licorice and savory spice. The wine's complex palate of ripe fruit, sweet tannins, and earth invite a pairing with mildly-seasoned braised meats. (Tasted: October 30, 2017, San Francisco, CA)